Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-18
CATTLE AND RAILROADS.
Points of the Advantages Possessed by
the City of Fort Worth for the Lo.
cation of the Refrigerator.
Tho Railroads that Center at Fort Worth
with the Number of Live Stock They
Make Tributary to the City.
Texas Live stock Journal.

| Texas Live stock Journal
The movement of csttlemen to aid in
! the establishment of reirigerators at
| points convenient to the range, to furnish
a market for their beeves, is begun none
| too soon. Common sense has long urged
to this as the best for the producer and
consumer, but the primary difficulty that
stood in the way required extraordinary
( efforts to overcome, and stockmen could
not be induced to put forth these extraor-
binary efforts until extraordinary condi-
lions forced them to it. Those conditions
now are making themselves felt. Some
thing must be done to break the GEN.
Trailing power of the pools and rings
that have almost crushed the life out Of
the business. The first thing to do Is TO
release the grasp OF this combination by
taking away from it the power to estab-
li>5 prices at will. The way to do this is
to carry the cattle elsewhere. But there
are no markets elsewhere. Then
make market. Make several
markets. This IS the logic of the situa-
ton, and this is what the stoCkmen
CT the country are now moving to 90.
They propose to give such encouragement
as will lead to the building OF refrigera-
tors end C9nneries in the immediate range
country, to consume their products at the
least possible expense for transportation.
The cost of sending beef to Chicago les
sens by thai much the price paid to the
man VINO produced it. If he can find
market at point to which he can ship
his cattle for half as much as he now
pays, the saving is his gain.
1t is the plan to aid in building beef
and mutton refrigerators at two points
in Texas, one to be in the northern part
of the state, convenient to the stock farms
OF the north and east, and to the ranges
of the west and the Panhandle. There
are several towns that want refrigerators
in Texas, but as only two are talked Of,
but two of them can be satisfied. San
Antonio or Houston will very likely be
the point for South Texas cattle to be
sent to, and in the northern part the con-
test is between Dallas and Fort Worth
Whichever of these latter two Offers the
best inducements will probably be settled
upon.
The Stock Journal presents in this ar
ticie some thoughts and statistics bear
ing upon this matter that wall be worth
the reading of Stockmen.
There are two things to be considered:
l. The supply of cattle. >. The means !
of getting them from the feeding grounds |.
and ranges to market.
By "means of getting to the market" /
is understood, of course, means Of rail /
way transportation. No place csn com
pete for the prize unless it has 9 system .
of railroads running to the country from
which the supply OF cattle is to be drawn,
and these roads must be the most direct /
and give the shortest route to market.
glance at the map accompanying this
article will show what place stands out
as possessing these advantages IN the
highest degree. Nine railroads extend
from Fort Worth in every direction, to
every part Of the compass, penetrating
every part of the state, and Offering faCil
itiss for the shipment of beeves and NUT
tons here and the expectation of the
dressed product to the consumers mar
ket. These nine are the AtChison, To-
peka and Santa Fe through the Indian
Territory; the Missouri Pacific
through the same country; the
through the north
counties; the Texas and Pacific
east and west, from one end of the state
20 the other; the Fort Worth and New j
Orleans to the southeast; the Missouri
Pacific and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa I
1e to the south anG Gulf ports; the Fort !
Worth and Denver Northwest through
he Panhandle. These are finished Snd 5
LONG business. There are also the Fort I
Worth and Rio Grande to the southwest, ,
which is to be in operation by May l, and t
he Fort Worth Western and the Kansas f
southern of Texas, both to $
he northwest through the Pan a
andle, chartered and soon to
after companies meet in Fort Worth t
o-day, to vote bonds to begin work with. t
he directors of the Fort Worth Western @
re H. W. Slocum, W. H. II. Lawrence, t
alvin Z. Broadhead, George ?. c
heldon, E. A. Morse, r NJ. Wynne, f
Y. f. Lake, B. B. Paddock president il
f the Fort Worth and Rio Grsnde>, and b
)aniel B. Buttertield. The directory of a
be Kansas Southern of Texas is com u
osed of W. B. Strong and A. W. t
ickerson of the Atchison, Topeka ard
anita Fe, and Geo. Sealy, Waters S. s
,avis, Isaac 7. Burr, Alden Speare, X. s. Il
Willis, Webster Snyder and w. II. Mas S
ers. Such names backing these roads s
re q strong guaranty that they are b
.rlctly business enterprises, and that "
ley will not De long delayed in building. t
Now, as to the meat supply. From the Il
aport of the Comptroller of the State of Il
exas we find that tie counties traversed o
y these roads contain the appended num- u
er of cattle and sheep: S